Compare Prices on Pacific Pearl South Pacific Cruises

PACIFIC PEARL BIT OF A LET DOWN AFTER ALL THE HYPE

Sail Date:
December 2010

Destination:
South Pacific

Embarkation:
Auckland

as per normal the embarkation left a bit to be desired {mind you aucklands queens wharf really is a disgrace].first impressions were good the makeover that the ship had in singapore before this inaugural xmas cruise looked ok.the inside cabin on deck L midships was quite spacious [looked like new carpet and duvets on the beds,but the furniture was old and the bathroom had seen better days,if you looked up the rust was there to see].the public areas were very pleasant although a word of warning about going to the shows in the marque theatre,get there early to secure a seat you can see from,as most of the seating downstairs is on the same level [so you cant see over the person in front].make sure you get a seat above a step,upstairs you find it hard to see through the large brass rail.

the reason we have cancelled the two future cruises is due to the vibrations felt when laying in bed [i assume they come from the engines,even though we were on deck 10,which is about where we More
have booked on other cruises,without any problems].it was so bad at times one felt quite sick [and i'm a good sailor,had no troubles on the dawn princess when going through a force 9 gale] and this caused a lack of sleep,which of course detracted from the holiday.

on the plus side we thought the entertainers were very good and the trapeze artists were excellent,although they could have had the volume a bit lower in the marque theatre.

the downside [mind you you have to make allowances,as this is an old ship,with some cosmetic changes] was the lack of working public toilets on board [most were not working for all of the trip,which is not good for a first trip] and many of the lifts on board were out of order.the food was another let down with most hot food being barely warm and much of the cooked meat was tough,with service in the waterfront eatery being extremely slow.[had good reports on the food at salts,but it seems a bit of a cheek to have to pay $A40 a head to get a decent meal on board].they also charge 5 star prices for their wine on board and that did not go down to well with many of the passengers,also check your on board accounts regularly as we got charged for drinks we did not have [they did credit when bought to there attention],but they don't give you a copy of the receipt for drinks unless you ask for one,which i thought was a little strange.most of the older passengers like us said they would not cruise on the pearl again,although the young ones with families were happier with the cruise. Less

Compare Prices on Pacific Pearl South Pacific Cruises

Cabin review: Pacific Pearl

dont get an inside cabin midships on deck 10,the vibrations are bad,the passenger in the cabin next door said the same and when talking to a crew member who had been on the ship when it was called Ocean Village they had a number of similar complaints,so it was not just me.